Haven’t had any jazz on here for a while, so here’s something I’ve been saving up for you.
When most jazz enthusiasts talk about “Miles”, the chances are they’ll be referring to one, Davis, M. But there’s another Miles whose influence, while perhaps not so far-reaching, still had a profound effect on jazz and its iconography. I’m speaking of Reid Miles, the man who designed so many of the super-cool, era-defining LP sleeves for Blue Note Records during the label’s heyday in the 50s and 60s. Often these cover designs used the photography of Francis Wolff, one of the co-founders of Blue Note, who used to take photos of the musicians during rehearsals for the recording sessions [file under best job ever.]
In their way, these covers were as influential as the music that was contained on the vinyl inside. Several books, such as this one, have been dedicated to them. Perhaps it was inevitable that, in this multimedia, You Tube world we live in, somebody decided that these images were just too cool to remain static on the page. And so we have the video below, where some of the most famous Blue Note covers have been animated and brought to life. It’s a pretty cool, if slightly surreal, few minutes of footage. And no, I have no idea what that man is saying.
PS: if you’re interested, the tune is “So Tired”, a Bobby Timmons composition. Enjoy.